Man dies in custody in Rajasthan, cop suspended

A day after a man allegedly died in police custody here, Rajasthan police suspended the concerned police officer.

Police also admitted that no FIR or complaint was registered against the victim. The deceased identified as Jeetu (22) was 'illegally' detained for committing theft.

"SHO had not registered a complaint against him. He was taken to hospital in a police vehicle after his health deteriorated. Doctors declared him dead after treatment," said Sharad Chaudhary, Superintendent of Police (SP), Barmer.

"We have registered complaint and we are investigating the case. SHO Deep Singh has been suspended as per the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) guidelines for custodial death. All the probe and investigation will be done as per NHRC guidelines. Culprits will be punished after investigation," he said.

The family members of the deceased alleged that police tortured him due to which his health deteriorated and he died.

"Yesterday, at noon four cops took my brother into custody on suspicion of theft. In the evening when I visited the police station, they asked me to go and told that they will release my brother tomorrow. The next morning, they asked me to come to the hospital and where he was declared dead by the doctors."

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal on Friday raised the incident in the Assembly.